JPH0693728B2 - Optical image reader - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an optical image reading apparatus, and in particular, it is connected to an image processing apparatus such as a word processor or a personal computer, and inputs image information such as characters, pictures and photographs. The present invention relates to an optical image reading device such as a hand scanner (image reader).

[Conventional technology]

Recently, an image processing apparatus, for example, a word processor, has an optical image reading apparatus capable of easily inputting an image as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-33057 (published on February 12, 1988). Things have appeared. As shown in FIG. 4, this optical image reading apparatus moves light in the sub-scanning direction on the original surface while irradiating the original surface with the light from the light source 45 through the reading opening 46 formed in the bottom surface of the housing 49. The reflected light from the CCD (Charge Couple
d Device) to convert the reflected light into corresponding image data.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, in this optical image reading apparatus, the width dimension of the housing in the main scanning direction (the direction orthogonal to the sub scanning direction) is formed so that it can be easily gripped with one hand. Thus, stable sub-scanning on the document surface can be performed.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

However, in such an optical image reading apparatus, since the width dimension of the housing in the main scanning direction can be held with one hand, the width dimension of the reading opening formed in the bottom surface of the housing along the main scanning direction is small. Due to the limitation, the width of the document that can be normally read is limited to, for example, about 65 mm.

[Object of the Invention]

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and a long reading width in the main scanning direction of an image original to be read is ensured,
Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide an optical image reading apparatus which is excellent in operability of the housing in the sub-scanning direction.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the housing 2 of the hand scanner 1 for inputting an image of a word processor or a personal computer can input an image as wide as possible, and the sub-scanning direction (right direction in FIG. 1) for easy grasping. )
The wide image input portion 5 (second portion) on the upstream side and the grip portion 3 (first portion) on the downstream side in the sub-scanning direction are substantially T.
It is shaped like a letter.

Further, step portions 7 and 9 are formed between the grip 3 and the image input unit 5 on the left and right in the sub scanning direction. These step portions 7 and 9 are positioned at different steps in the sub-scanning direction, and when the grip 3 is gripped, the thumb contacts the step portion 7 and the forefinger contacts the step portion 9.

Inside the housing 2, a mechanism for optically picking up an image such as characters or figures drawn on the image original P to be read is housed. This mechanism includes a light source 19 for illuminating the reading opening 11 of the image original P.
And a reflection means 21 located immediately above the reading opening 11 for changing the optical path of the image reflected light from the image original P in a direction parallel to the original P, and an image reflected light a sent through the reflecting means 21.
It is composed of a photoelectric conversion element such as an image sensor for receiving and photoelectrically converting light, for example, CCD25 (line sensor).

The image reading here employs a line scanning method in which a reading area of a given image original is conceptually divided into a plurality of scanning lines and an image is taken for each scanning line.
That is, the image is read while moving the scanner along the surface of the image document. Therefore, the reading opening 11
Has a linear opening at least in the width direction to the main scanning direction (vertical direction in FIG. 1) on the bottom surface of the housing 2 located in the image input section 5.

The reading opening 11 may be closed with a transparent plate.

Further, the reading opening 11 can be opened in accordance with the width of the wide image input unit 5, and is thus extended so that a wide original can be sufficiently read in the main scanning direction. Therefore, the LED array 19 and the reflection plate 21 for irradiating the read image are also extended in a wide width according to the reading opening width.

On the other hand, the grip portion 3 has its aperture width so that the reflected light flux a is not blocked by the condensing lens 23 so that the outermost edge of the light flux a is not blocked, and because it is a handy type, it can be gripped. Is set.

Various lamps or light emitting bodies can be considered as the light source 19 for illuminating the reading opening 11 having a narrow width. In this embodiment, a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) are arranged in a line LED. Array is used. The LED array light source 19 can be driven with low power consumption, can irradiate light with a relatively uniform light amount over the entire illumination area, and is small and lightweight, which is convenient for this type of handy device. Any type, configuration, and emission color light source may be used, and the light source is not particularly limited thereto.

The light source 19 is arranged at a position that illuminates the reading opening 11 obliquely from above and above.

The reflection plate 21 provided directly above the reading opening 11 illuminated by the light source 19 has a total reflection mirror surface and is inclined at 45 ° with respect to the original P, so that the reflected light a from the reading opening 11 is reflected. Only the vertical reflection portion is totally reflected in the horizontal direction and guided to the image sensor 25 located in the rear.

The image light processing unit is fixed inside the grip unit 3 and includes a condenser lens 23 that guides the image reflected light a to the image sensor 25. The condenser lens 23 is the image sensor from the reflector 21.
It is arranged in the optical path of the reflected light a reaching 25, and the reflected light reflected from the image original P is imaged on the image sensor 25 with a width narrower than the width dimension of the reading opening 11. Reflection means 21,
A CCD line sensor is preferable as the image sensor 25 that photoelectrically converts the image reflected light a sent through the condenser lens 23 and outputs it as an image image information signal or a video signal. One cell of the CCD line sensor corresponds to one pixel of the image image read for each scanning line, and pixel light of each cell is photoelectrically converted and output.

Reference numeral 13 is a viewing window provided on the upper surface of the housing 2. The viewing window 13 is behind the reading opening 11, that is,
It is provided at a position displaced toward the image sensor 25 side.
Since the viewing window 13 is displaced rearward with respect to the reading opening 11, the hole reaching the reading opening 11 is inclined and is arranged so as to avoid at least the reflection plate 21. Therefore,
Seen from diagonally above and behind the scanner, the viewing window 13 and the reading opening
11 is aligned and can be seen through.

Further, since the inclination of the viewing window 13 is inclined in the direction opposite to the image sensor 25, the outside light, which is slightly incident on the document P from the viewing window 13 through the viewing hole, is reflected in the direction opposite to the image sensor 25. However, it does not affect the intended reflected light of the image so much.

That is, the viewing path from the viewing window 13 opened in the housing 2 to the image input unit 5 is formed in the direction opposite to the path of the image reflected light a incident on the image sensor in plan view. Even if the external light incident on the inside of the housing 2 is irregularly reflected on the screen to be read, there is the amount of reflected light due to this, and the entire area of the image original to be read in the main scanning direction can be easily visually recognized.

Reference numeral 17 denotes a rotating member such as a roller for smoothly moving the scanner in the sub-scanning direction (rightward in FIG. 1). The roller 17 forms a roller cover by denting the bottom surface of the housing 2 inward. Further, the roller 17 is provided with a detection means for updating the scanning line in synchronization with the fixed amount movement in the sub-scanning direction when reading the original. This detection means includes one or more gears 29 and 31 for transmitting the rotation of the roller 17, and the gear 2
A disk member 35 that rotates in synchronization with the rotation of the roller 17 by 9,31 and a rotation detection member 37 that detects a constant rotation amount or rotation angle of the disk member 35.

The disk member 35 has a large number of pores radially on its peripheral surface, and is formed by interposing the disk member 35 on a photocoupler or photointerrupter used as the rotation detecting member 37.
As a result, the sub-scanning pulse signal is output from the rotation detecting member 37 at every constant rotation amount of the disk member 35.

Further, the detection means composed of the conductive members such as the gears 29 and 31 described above, the disk member 35, and the rotation detection member 37 is used to detect the image reflected light a formed in the housing 2 from the reflection plate 21 to the condenser lens 23. The reflected light is not blocked by the optical path and is located outside the width direction of the reflected light a and sets the length of the reading opening 11 in the sub-direction with respect to the sub-scanning direction. It is provided in a region inside a in the width direction.

Further, the disk member 35 is provided on the downstream side in the sub-scanning direction by the gears 29 and 31, and is arranged on the inner side in the width direction of the reflected light a. As a result, the rotation detecting member 37 can be positioned further inside in the width direction of the reflected light a, and the housing 2
It is possible to prevent an increase in size, especially in the width direction.

The control board 27 has, for example, three stages (dark / standard /
A lightness switch 39 that switches to (light) is provided.
The control board 27 (not shown below) is provided with a circuit for driving the CCD 25.

This circuit includes an oscillation circuit, a counter circuit, a CCD output circuit, a flip-flop circuit, and a decoder. One terminal of the counter circuit goes to a high level H when the number of invalid photosensors and photocell-free numbers has been counted. Further, the other terminals become high level H when the number of valid images is counted after the counting of the number of invalid photo cells and the number of non-photo cells is completed.

That is, when the counter circuit counts and counts the number of dummies, the other terminal becomes high level H, the effective area is counted next, and when the count is over, one terminal becomes high level H. To obtain an output synchronized with the line start signal.

If the output, the reset pulse, the sample-and-hold signal, and the AND of the image output are respectively taken, they can be output as a counter pulse, a write signal, and an image signal.

The flip-flop circuit and the AND circuit have a function of producing a line start signal by using the sub-scanning signal, the transfer gate signal, and the output of the decoder.

As described above, according to the present invention, the housing is composed of the first portion and the second portion having different widths, and the image sensor and the condenser lens are arranged in the first portion, Since the reading opening, the light source, the reflecting means, and the rotating body are arranged in the second portion, the width of the second portion can be made wider than that of the first portion.

For this reason, a first portion that is gripped when moving in the sub-scanning direction and a second portion that is wider than the first portion in the main scanning direction are provided on the side surface between the first portion and the second portion. By forming the reading opening on the bottom surface of the second portion to be wider than the width of the first portion in the main scanning direction along the main scanning direction, the housing can be easily gripped and the operability in the sub scanning direction can be improved. In addition to being excellent, it is possible to read an image wider than the width of the first portion to be gripped.

Further, the light source is disposed between the upstream end of the second portion in the sub-scanning direction and the reading opening, and the reflecting means is provided above the reading opening of the second portion to direct the image reflected light from the image reading portion to the first portion. Since it is arranged so as to reflect in the image sensor direction, and the rotating member is arranged along the reading opening below the optical path of the image reflected light reflected by the reflecting means at the second portion on the first portion side of the reading opening, The light source, the reflecting means, and the rotating body are arranged in front of and behind the reading opening, respectively, and there is little interference in arrangement with each other, and the rotating body can be configured to be long in the main scanning direction.
Stable movement in the sub-scanning direction is possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

1, 2 and 3 are sectional views for explaining one embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are conceptual views for explaining the conventional invention. Explanation of code 1 …… Hand scanner, 2 …… Housing 3 …… Grip part, 5 …… Image input part 11 …… Reading opening part, 13 …… Peep window 17 …… Roller, 19 …… LED array 21 …… Reflector, 23 …… Lens unit 25 …… CCD, 27 …… Control section

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A housing having a reading opening on a bottom surface along a main scanning direction, a light source provided in the housing for illuminating an image reading portion on an image surface to be read, and an image from the image reading portion. A reflecting means provided in the housing for reflecting the reflected light; and an image sensor provided in the housing for receiving the image reflected light from the reflecting means and converting the image reflected light into corresponding image data. An optical image reading device including a rotating member that rotates with the movement of the housing in the sub-scanning direction, wherein the housing includes a first portion gripped when moving in the sub-scanning direction; A second portion that is wider than the one portion in the main scanning direction, and a step portion formed on the side surface between the first portion and the second portion having different widths are provided, and the second portion is Previous The first portion is arranged on the upstream side in the sub-scanning direction of the housing, the first portion is arranged on the downstream side in the sub-scanning direction of the housing, and the image from the image sensor and the reflection means to the image sensor is provided on the first portion. And a condenser lens for forming an image of reflected light on the image sensor with a width narrower than the reading opening, and the reading opening is formed on the bottom surface of the second portion along the main scanning direction along the main scanning direction of the first portion. Is formed wider than the reading opening of the second portion, and the light source is arranged between the upstream end of the second portion in the sub-scanning direction and the reading opening, and the reflecting means is located above the reading opening of the second portion. Is arranged so as to reflect the image reflected light from the image reading portion toward the image sensor of the first portion, and the rotating member is provided at the second portion on the first portion side of the reading opening with the reflecting means. Image reflected by Optical image reading apparatus characterized by being arranged along the reading aperture in the light path under the light.